The Starving Oni
The following is a fairy tale found in a Romagoni collection of scrolls: Once upon a time, there was an oni that rampaged through the Romagon tundras, laying waste to any villages that she came across in the the form of a twisted, blood-soaked tree. Any time she would come across a settlement, she would walk through the town as a beautiful woman, living among them for three days. She proclaimed herself as an emissary of the divine, saying that they were to be tested and that if they failed, they would receive no blessing. If by the end of the three days, they failed to satisfy her in some way, she'd take her other form, keeping her word in not giving them a blessing; instead, they'd receive death as she strangled them all to death with her limbs, draining them of their blood and devouring their bodies afterwards. Most scoffed at her proclamations of being a divine being, but those that took her seriously tried everything they could to please her. However, nothing they did satisfied her. In truth, even she did not know how what would satisfy her. Every slaughter left her feeling more and more ravenous, always yearning for something more. She traveled for some time, devouring every village she came across until eventually she came across a lone man living by himself in the middle of nowhere. It would not be a magnificent feast, she told herself, but maybe it would tide her over until she could find a larger settlement to devour. When she approached him, she discovered that the man lived inside of a tent. She proclaimed herself an emissary of the divine and asked him to satisfy her or she would give him no blessing. The mortal man, a quiet unassuming man, peered at her for a moment, taking in her pristine and beautiful form and realized that all her traveling in the wilderness would leave her dirty and unkempt. Thus he took her at her word and beckoned her into his tent. To her surprise, this unassuming Romagon man was a wizard, his threadbare tent actually being a luxurious and homely home. Perhaps, she thought to herself, this would be a fabulous feast after all. The man, taking her task seriously, toiled during the day in a nearby clearing, pleading with her not to come see his work as he wanted it to be a surprise for her. During the night however, he would converse with her, sharing stories of his childhood and hearing her tales of the kami and oni that roamed the land. To her surprise, she found herself slowly growing fond of the man's company, but at the same time, her hunger kept growing, warring with her desire to listen to him more. Finally, after the final night, the man brought her to the clearing, a quiet and simplistic tundra that was once bare. Now however, a grove of cherry trees in full blossom grew there and in the middle of all of them, an ornate crystal clock tower. He knelt down before her, saying that he knew what she was, that stories of her carnage had spread across the land by the few survivors that had managed to escape her. Despite all that however, he was captivated by her beauty and grace upon seeing her; he had fallen in love with her, a sentiment that had only grown stronger during the nights. He continued, saying that he knew he was likely to die, but all the considerable power that he had was worth nothing if it couldn't please the person he loved. This beautifully shining tower and the worked ground he had toiled on for these last three days was to be his gift to her, a reflection of the beauty he saw in her. It was his attempt at the task she had set before him. And, if she would accept it, his marriage proposal to her. The oni was transfixed by the words of love that were professed to her, the sincerity of his words reflected in the majesty of his work for her. To her memory, not a single person had ever looked at her with such intensity as this man had knowing what he did, and even before she revealed herself, those looks were tinged with fear of her divinity or based lust of her form. As the wizard awaited her answer, she searched her feelings and discovered that despite whatever her nature as an oni called for, she had grown fond of this mortal being. In a moment of clarity, the oni said yes, that she'd accept his gift, that he had satisfied her, and that his blessing would be her hand in marriage for as long as he lived. As the wizard took her hand, tears of joy escaped her as she finally felt satisfied after all this time. Something bid her to take her new form amidst all these trees and her new lover. She stepped back from the wizard and shifted, and she knew that something amazing had happened. What was once a blood-soaked and dying tree was now a beautiful and magnificent cherry tree in full bloom. What was once a terrifying and horrible oni was now a glorious kami. The wizard, overcome with joy, approached his new wife who had realized the terrible void that plagued her was starved for love, not flesh, and led her into the crystal clock tower, a magical home that he had created for the both of them, and together, the two of them lived in bliss until the end of the wizard's days. Category:Lore Articles